November tourism projected at $2.3 million

Visitors to Augusta in November are expected to generate almost $2.3 million in direct visitor spending.

The top two November events projected to bring in the most spending are the Augusta Rowing Club’s Head of the South Regatta, from Nov. 8-11, and the Georgia Association of School Business Officials annual convention, from Nov. 2-8. Combined, the events are expected to draw 3,500 people and generate about $1.1 million, according to a monthly report compiled by the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Augusta Sports Council.

The bureau bases direct visitor spending on the number of occupied overnight hotel rooms and factors in money spent by visitors in local hotels, restaurants and retail stores. Last November, the bureau anticipated the city’s tourism to produce $947,000.

In October, the direct visitor spending was calculated to be about $2.6 million. That figure, however, included the Boshears SkyFest, which was postponed as a result of the federal government’s partial shutdown. The mid-October event was expected to draw crowds of more than 20,000 and generate about $172,000 for the city’s economy.